Latest news with #TribalAffairsMinistry
The Hindu
08-07-2025
- General
- The Hindu
About 600 Eklavya school students cracked IIT-JEE, NEET exams, says Centre
Close to 600 students from government-run Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) for Tribal Students across 12 States have cleared top entrance examinations this year for undergraduate studies in medicine and engineering across the country, the Tribal Affairs Ministry's assessment of the EMRS's performance for the year showed. Officials added that in a special effort to give these students the confidence to proceed with higher education, the Ministry is preparing to reach out to these students with the gamut of government scholarships available to them and handhold the entire application process. Officials told The Hindu that a total of 596 students of EMRS schools in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Telangana, Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra qualified for either IIT-JEE Mains, IIT-JEE Advanced, or the NEET examinations. One official said this was the first time such data had been compiled for EMRS students, adding that in previous years, 'the number would have been in a few dozen'. The EMRS is one of the Tribal Affairs Ministry's flagship schemes and the Union government has in the last five years pushed for major reforms in the administration of these schools, including trying to centralise their running, through setting up the National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS). The nearly 600 students who have cleared these entrance exams were coached by coaching centres that have partnered with the NESTS over the last couple of years to provide specific training to students of EMRSs, where tribal students, including students from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups form close to 85% of the student population. Outreach programme In a departure from regular process, a senior government official said the Scholarship Division of the Tribal Affairs Ministry was now looking to start an outreach programme, where all the Ministry's available post-matriculate scholarships for tribal students would be taken to them. 'Usually, they are left to apply for the scholarships themselves. In this case, they have done excellent work, and the Ministry wants to encourage them and give them confidence. So, since both NESTS and scholarships are handled by the Ministry, now the Ministry will track these students and handhold them to get all scholarships they are entitled to,' the official said. According to the evaluation of the performance conducted by the Tribal Affairs Ministry, 218 students qualified for the IIT-JEE Mains examination, with about 25 of them likely to get in at NITs; 34 students cracked the IIT-JEE Advanced, with 18 of them likely to get into IITs; and 344 students cracked the NEET exam, with at least three of them likely to be placed at AIIMS and most others likely to get a seat in elite government medical institutes. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and Minister for State Durgadas Uikey held a meeting with NESTS on Tuesday where these results saw both the Ministers praise the efforts of the officials, teachers, and students across EMRSs. They said the scheme, its impact, and its results, needed to be taken to the public. The Tribal Affairs Ministry, through the NESTS, administers over 400 residential schools across the country, where around 1.38 lakh students are currently enrolled.
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Prove that Forest Rights Act is responsible for ‘negative' change to forest cover, Tribal Affairs Ministry tells Environment Ministry
A little over six months after the India State of Forest Report (2023) was released, which attributed 'negative' change in forest and tree cover to the implementation of Forest Rights Act (FRA) among other factors, the Tribal Affairs Ministry has asked the Environment Ministry to provide evidence for this claim. The Tribal Affairs Ministry, which is the nodal Ministry for the implementation of FRA, further said that making such claims without 'adequate scientific evidence' may reinforce stereotypes among State, District, and Forest administrations 'that could undermine the rights vested under the Act, as well as the effectiveness of the implementation'. The Ministry has requested a 'detailed scientific analysis' for the claim 'with valid instances through ground truthing as the report mentions'. A senior government official told The Hindu, 'The ISFR is meant to be a very detailed and scientific study of forests. If such claims are made, the purpose is to find out what evidence supports it. That is why this communication has been issued.' After letter from activists The Ministry of Tribal Affairs' communication, dated July 2, comes days after over 150 forest rights and civil society groups wrote to the Union government, taking issue with the ISFR's attribution of 'negative' change in forest cover partly to the implementation of FRA. They had also pointed out that this claim had been repeated by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in a media interview in June this year. Former Environment Minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who had amplified the civil society groups' letter, shared the Tribal Affairs Ministry's communication on social media on Saturday (July 5, 2025) as well. The Tribal Affairs Ministry, in its communication, said that the FRA 'does not deal with regularisation of encroachments'. 'Instead, it acknowledges pre-existing rights that are already being exercised by eligible individuals and communities dwelling in forest areas. Beyond securing the tenure of the existing forest dwellers, FRA does not create any new rights that could potentially affect the ecological balance within protected areas,' it said. In the communication, which has been marked to the Environment Ministry's Secretary, the Tribal Affairs Ministry's FRA Division has also referred to the media interview that was flagged by the civil society groups. It noted that the ISFR 2023, in the chapter on Change in Forest and Tree Cover, has two sections — one on 'positive' changes and another on 'negative' changes. In the report, under the possible reasons for 'negative' changes, the Environment Ministry lists 'titles given to beneficiaries under the Forest Rights Act (2006)' as one of them. According to a review of the last five ISFRs published by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) in the last decade, this is the first time, titles under FRA have been included in this list explicitly. The point on FRA as one of the reasons for 'negative' change to forest cover was reiterated by Mr. Yadav in an email interview with a daily newspaper. Notably, the Environment Ministry had denied allegations made against it by the civil society groups in a detailed statement posted on social media on Thursday (July 3, 2025). The statement had come after Mr. Ramesh had posted the civil society groups' letter on social media. In the statement, the Environment Ministry had claimed that the Minister's interview remarks were taken out of context. It had gone on to assert that that ISFR 2023 had recorded a 'substantial increase in forest and tree cover', which it said was 'suggestive' of community involvement in forest management. 'The inference drawn is contrary to the factual position and totally devoid of merit,' it had said. However, in the interview of Mr. Yadav, he was quoted as saying: 'Although there is a net increase in dense forests in the country, there are areas where the dense prime forests have been affected with degradation.' Mr. Yadav, in the interview, goes on to list possible reasons for this, including 'titles given under Forest Rights Act (2006)'.
The Hindu
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Gram Sabhas hold authority to prepare CFR management plans, says Centre
The power to prepare Community Forest Resource (CFR) management plans rests with villages through their Gram Sabhas and not with any department of either the Union or State governments, officials of the Tribal Affairs Ministry in New Delhi said on Friday (July 4, 2025). The role of governments is limited to assisting Gram Sabhas in this process, they added. This clarification follows the withdrawal of an order by the Chhattisgarh Forest Department that had prohibited CFR management work across the State in areas where rights had been granted under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. The order, issued by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests in May, had sparked State-wide protests from forest-dwelling communities and civil society groups. The Forest Department had cited a 2024 joint communication from the Union Ministries of Tribal Affairs and Environment, under which the Tribal Affairs Ministry was to prepare 'model' CFR management plans for circulation to States. Based on this, the Department claimed that no CFR management activity could proceed until these model plans were delivered. However, Union government officials told The Hindu that 'the joint communication was not supposed to halt CFR management work till the model plans are prepared'. State officials further explained that community-led forest resource management and conservation cannot have 'one plan that fits all', adding that each village will have to tailor their plans according to the nature, amount and geography of the forests in their respective areas. In their protest letters to the Chief Minister, Gram Sabhas alleged that the Forest Department was attempting to wrest control of CFR management from them - an authority they hold under the FRA and the CFR guidelines issued by the Tribal Affairs Ministry. The earlier Forest Department order had also interrupted plans by the Tribal Development Department to empanel NGOs to support villages in drafting their CFR management plans. With Thursday's withdrawal of the order, officials in Chhattisgarh confirmed that the process can now resume. 'We had asked for guidance from the Tribal Affairs Ministry on this and a formal response is expected any day now. It has also been learnt that the Union Ministry will soon be sharing its model plans, which will just be a broad framework,' a State official said. Though the FRA was enacted in 2006 with the intent of involving forest-dependent communities in conservation and management, it was only in 2023 that the Tribal Affairs Ministry issued detailed guidelines that gave exclusive authority to Gram Sabhas for preparing and approving CFR plans. The Ministry clarified that any synchronisation required with forest department codes should occur after Gram Sabhas have finalised their plans. To facilitate this process, the Union government in 2023 launched the Dharti Aba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyaan, a separate programme that enabled State governments to empanel NGOs to assist Gram Sabhas in preparing CFR management plans.
The Hindu
27-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Centre announces Adi Karmyogi programme for nationwide capacity building in tribal scheme implementation
State and Central Government officials from across the country working in the domain of tribal welfare have concluded after a two-day workshop in New Delhi that the reason tribal areas continued to face backwardness was not a lack of schemes for them but a 'lack of motivation' in the implementers. Based on these conclusions, parts of which were presented during the two-day 'Adi Anveshan' National Conference of the Tribal Affairs Ministry, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram on Friday (June 27, 2025) announced the government's 'Adi Karmyogi' programme. The programme was announced at the end of the brainstorming session and is meant to build a 'cadre of officers' dedicated to working with a citizen-centric ideation and delivery-orientated approach to implementation of schemes, government officials said on Friday (June 27, 2025). The objective is to take capacity-building to about 20 lakh field-level stakeholders by creating a batch of trainers and master trainers at the State, district, and block levels. The government said it intends to give rise to 180 State-level trainers, over 3,000 district level trainers, and over 15,000 block level trainers to this effect. A government statement said that, 'A unique presentation during the inaugural session highlighted the real challenge in tribal development — not a lack of schemes or resources, but a lack of motivation among implementers. The need to transform routine administrative practices into purpose-driven service delivery was underscored through anecdotal storytelling by officials from the Ministry.' Also read: What makes a tribe? Top anthropologists say the answer lies on a spectrum, not in a binary classification Officials said this presentation was borne out of an interactive session with multiple officials from across tribal welfare departments intervening with their respective ideas. 'This built into an organic unique presentation where this was the conclusion arrived at,' one official said. They added, 'Officials spoke about the conditions in tribal areas, healthcare infrastructure, lack of staff in schools, citizens having to travel far and wide for basic services. The overall conclusion was that schemes to address all this have been running and that the real problem is lack of the right approach in officials.' The officials explained that the idea is to incentivise officers — from IASs and senior bureaucrats to block level officials — to work with dedication on implementing the schemes that the government is designing.
Hans India
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Vijay Shah attends MP cabinet meet, Congress criticises CM Mohan Yadav
Bhopal: After skipping three back-to-back special cabinet meetings following his controversial remarks on Colonel Sofia Qureshi, Madhya Pradesh Tribal Affairs Minister Vijay Shah finally attended a cabinet meeting held in Bhopal Tuesday. The opposition took strong objection to Shah's presence in the cabinet meeting. The Congress criticised Chief Minister Mohan Yadav for allowing Shah to attend the cabinet meeting. "This is disrespectful to the Army official Colonel Sofia Qureshi. Shah's presence in today's cabinet has also revealed that Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and the BJP were shielding Vijay Shah from the first day after his derogatory comments," Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesperson Abhinav Barolia said. Shah made his first public appearance during the 'Janjatiya Kol Sammelan' in Beohari (tehsil town) in Shahdol district on Monday. He shared the podium with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, and other dignitaries. The conclave was organised to honour Birsa Munda, a revered warrior of India's tribal community. The conference, organised by the state Tribal Affairs Ministry, conspicuously omitted Shah's image from banners and posters. While photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav were prominently displayed, Shah's absence was noticeable despite his ministerial position. His presence at the event appeared subdued, reflecting the ongoing scrutiny surrounding him. Upon the Chief Minister's arrival at the event, Shah greeted him with a bouquet before stepping aside. On stage, he was seated to the right of the Chief Minister, while Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla took the left. Despite his proximity, Shah remained largely isolated, with Yadav apparently showing little interest in engaging in conversation. He attempted to speak to the Chief Minister on several occasions, but the responses remained brief and formal. During the event, Yadav announced financial aid for local sports and cultural groups. Sixteen football teams from Vicharpur, a village known as 'Mini Brazil' due to its strong football culture, were granted Rs 10 lakh. Nine musical instrument teams received Rs 5,000 each. After the programme, football kits were distributed to players from Vicharpur to encourage sports development in tribal areas. CM Yadav also directed Shah to oversee the construction of a 100-seater hostel with full amenities. Shah remained in the background as CM Yadav moved forward to shower flowers on women and girls from the community. He did not participate in traditional ceremonies such as lamp lighting, garlanding, or Kanya Pujan. His exclusion from these symbolic moments further highlighted his diminished role. Despite the event being organised by the Tribal Affairs Ministry, Shah was noticeably absent from the list of speakers.
